The benchmark composite stock index of Shanghai Stock Exchange broke the important mark of 1,800 points and closed at 1,805.18 points on Tuesday, a rise of 45.79 points, or up 2.6 percent over Monday.

Total transaction volume of the Shanghai market, which covers yuan-denominated A shares and foreign-currency B shares, stood at 23 billion yuan (about US$2.875 billion).

At Shenzhen Stock Exchange, the component stock index closed at 4,452.69 points, up 96.29 points, or 2.21 percent higher. Transactions on the Shenzhen market reached 13.17 billion yuan.

About 800 stocks rose up and 32 stocks dropped on the Shanghai market. The Shenzhen market saw over 500 stocks up and nearly 30 stocks down.

The market rose up rapidly Tuesday after unexpected drop of two percent on the previous day, said analysts. SinoPec saw a sharp rise of over 7 percent. China Unicom and BaoSteel showed strong momentum of rise. Banking stocks also reported strong growth.

Analysts said that the rise of blue chip stocks would bring the market up. But some experts also warned that ups and downs are unavoidable for the market.

(Xinhua News Agency October 25, 2006)